Sterling Hayden

Richard Carlson

William Phipps

John Bromfield

Keith Larsen

William Schallert

Phyllis Coates

Dave Willock

Walter Coy

Todd Karns

William Tannen

Steve Fisher

Lesley Selander

Marlin Skiles

William Austin

Walter Mirisch

Allen K. Wood

Harry Neumann

Richard V. Heermance

Charles Cooper

Dave Milton

Drama

Action

Flat Top

Monogram Pictures

United States of America

CinemaSerf

The army and the air force had their go at this plot, so I suppose it was bound to be the navy’s turn. Richard Carlson in the man expected to take over the squadron of fliers when their boss gets incapacitated, but instead of the mild-mannered “Joe”, they get the hard as nails “Collier” (Sterling Hayden). He immediately sets the cat amongst the pigeons by grounding one of their popular but reckless number and by proceeding to rule the team with a rod of iron. Naturally, this earns him the enmity of his command but with their carrier about to head into danger against the heavily armed Japanese Imperial Fleet, we all know that discipline is going to be key (and that there is precisely no jeopardy at all with the rest of the plot!). Carlsen tries a little here, but Hayden is about as wooden as the deck of the USS Princeton upon which much of this was filmed. In the end, it’s really all about some impressive aerial photography of training sessions and dogfights that is fairly clearly sourced from archive. It’s feel-good wartime fayre but its mediocrity isn’t much to write home about.

English